Switch-stand



(No Model.) p

' F. O. BAKER.

SWITCH STAND.

No. 402,293. Patented Apr. 30, 1889.

A TTORNEY'S.

V UNITED STATES PATENT O FICE.

FRANK o. BAKER, OF'BLUE ISLAND, ILLINOIS.

SWITCH-STAN D.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 402,293, dated April 30, 1889.

Application filed October 15,1888. Serial No. 288,066- (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, FRANK G. BAKER, of Blue Island, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented a new and Improved Switch-Stand, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

My invention relates to an improvement in switch-stands, and has for its object to provide a device in which the lever will be thrown parallel with the rails of the track instead of at a right angle to said rails, as heretofore; and a further object of the invention is to provide a switch-stand of simple and durable construction which maybe conveniently and expeditiously manipulated.

' The invention consists in the novel construction and combination of the parts, as will be hereinafter fully set forth, and pointed out in the claims.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, in which similar figures of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the views.

Figure 1 is aperspective view of the switchstandconnected with switch-rails. Fig. 2 is a plan view of the same, and Fig. 3 is a modification of one of the connecting-bars.

My improvement is especially designed for use in crowded railroad-yards, where every inch of space is valuable and where the tracks are placed very close together. In such yards it is often desirable to place the switches where the tracks are very close; but heretofore this has not been accomplished without moving the tracks quite far apart, as the ordinary switch-stand occupies considerable space.

It is one of the objects of this invention to provide a stand which will occupy about onethird of the space occupied by ordinary switchstandsthat is, the stand located at a right angle. to the track and to provide a means whereby the levers may be moved parallel with the track for the purpose of affording greater safety to a person handling the lever when trains are moving upon the track at each side of the stand.

In carrying out the invention the arch 10 is mounted upon a suitable base, ll,which base is ordinarily attached to a sub-base, 12. The arch 10 is located parallel with the track, as

illustrated in Fig. l, and is ordinarily provided with three apertures, 13, 14, and 15,10- cated, respectively, one near each end of the arch and the other at or near the center of the sime.

Lugs 16 are formed upon the upper face of the base 11 at the center, and between the said lugs the lower end of a lever, 17, is pivoted, the said lever 17 being provided upon one side with a lug or guard, 18, the lower end of which guard is recessed and made'to project downward over the arch to serve as a guide, as best illustrated in Fig. 1. ver 17 is held perpendicular or in a horizontal position by means of apin,19,passed through an aperture formed in the projecting end of the guard 18, and also in the lever proper, the pin being passed through either one of the three apertures 13, 14, and 15 in the arch.

The switch-rod 20 is moved by means of a modified bell-crank lever, 21, the opposing members of the said lever being hinged upon a crossbar, 22, one end of which bar is connected directly with the switch rail through the medium of the aforesaid switch-rod 20.

The cross-bar 22, connecting the members of the bell-crank lever 21, is ordinarily rectangular in cross-section and cut away to form the cylindrical surfaces 23, as best shown in Figs. 1 and 3, to receive the extremities of the bell-crank lever. If the cross-bar 22 is weakened by the reduction of metal at the points 23, the same may be strengthened by means of a brace, 24, integral with the bar and spanning the said reduced portion, as illustrated in Fig.3. The cross-bar 22 is pivoted to the sub-base 12 near one extremity and between the opposing members of the bell-crank lever, the pivotal point of the said crossbar being in alignment with the pivotal point of the lever 17. The shank end 25 of the bell-crank lever 21 is cylindrical and projected through an aperture, 26, formed in the lever 17 near the lower or pivotal end, which aperture 26 is provided with beveled edges. A guide,27, is provided for the cross-bar 22, consisting of two spaced semicircular plates secured upon the sub base, between which plates the crossbar passes, as best illustrated in Fig. 1. The end The le-- of the cross-bar projecting beyond the guide 27 is the extremity that is attached to the switch-bar.

As one end of the bell-crank lever 21 is passed through the aperture 26 in the lever 17,when the lever17is revolved it carries the cylindrical end 25 of the said bell-crank lever with it, thus turning the latter lever and moving the switch-rod, which, as aforesaid, c011- nects the lever with the switch-rails, and as the straight lever 17 carries the cylindrical end of the bell-crank lever from side to side the hinged joints of the latter upon the connecting or cross bar 22 readily permit the said cylindrical end 25 of the bell-crank lever to rise and lower alternately without interruption.

It the bell-crank lever is pivoted directly opposite to the lower end of the straight or main lever 17, or so that the two pivotingpoiuts form a right angle with the main lever 17 at any position of said lever, the distance from the top or upper end of the main lever to the point I) will not vary,and there will be no slide or lost motion when the lever is revolved, since the upper end of the main lever and the pivotal points of the same and the pivotal point of the bell-crank lever will constitute a right-angle triangle which revolves with a line drawn from the pivotal point of the main lever 17 to the pivotal point of the bell-crank lever 21 as an axis.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent- 1. In a switch-stand,a pivoted switch-lever swinging in a plane parallel with the rails, and a h orizontally-turnin g bell-crank lever pivoted at one end directly to the switch-lever and pivoted at its other end to the switcl1-bar,substantially as set forth.

2. In a switch-stand, the combination, with an apertured arch and an essentially straight lever sliding upon the same and provided with an aperture near the lower end, of a switch-bar and an essentially bell-crank lever attached to the said switch-bar and provided with one cylindrical end adapted to pass through the aperture in the straight or main lever, as and for the purpose specified.

3. In a switch-stand, the combination, with the base, an arch secured to the base, and an essentially straight lever pivoted upon the said base and guided over the said arch,provided with an aperture near the pivotal point, of a hinged bell-crank lever pivoted in alignment with the pivotal point of the main lever, and provided with a cylindrical shank end adapted to project through the aperture of the main lever, all combined to operate substantially as and for the purpose specified.

i. In a switch-stand, the combination, with the base, an arch secured to the base, and an essentially straight lever pivoted upon the said base, guided over the said arclnand provided with an aperture near the pivotal point, of a switch-rod, a bell-crank lever provided with a cylindrical shank end projecting through the aperture of the main lever, a semicircular guide, a transverse bar passing loosely through the opposing members of the bellcrank lever, uniting the same, the said transverse bar being pivoted in alignment with the pivotal point of the main lever, substantially as shown and described.

FRANK C. BAKER.

Witnesses:

II. B. ROBINSON, D. '1. BAKER. 

